A very warm welcome to this year’s Literary Festival.
Set in the glorious house and grounds of
Chiddingstone Castle in the Tudor village of
Chiddingstone, our festival returns for a third outing
in 2018. We are grateful once again to our title
sponsors Brooks Macdonald, an award-winning
company that specialises in providing investment
management services across the UK and
internationally.

We have a musical puppetry performance of a
classic Romanian fairy-tale, Early Man model-making
with Aardman Animations, story writing workshops
and much more.
Treats are in store for local pupils at our Schools Day
on Tuesday, with visits from several award-winning,
bestselling children’s authors, an hilarious two-girl
theatre company and an acclaimed comedian who
will give away the Seven Secrets of Storytelling.

We are thrilled by our growing stature which can
be measured by our impressive line-up of authors
recruited for this year. We have a deliberately eclectic
mix of renowned writers; of biography, memoir,
history, medicine, fiction, crime, poetry, science,
politics and children’s books, to guarantee that we
truly offer something for everyone, of all ages and
interests. Ensuring that it is a family affair, there will
also be children’s theatre performances, puppetry,
life drawing, modelling, magazine-making and creative
writing workshops. Visitors can also tour the Castle’s
collection of art and antiquities and enjoy delicious
food and drink throughout the day.

In these uncertain times of fake news, hard borders
and gender-neutral disputes, let us offer you the
prospect of a long weekend’s escape into a world of
revelation and debate, presented by our wide-ranging
selection of authors. Come for one event or stay all
day. Enjoy delicious food from our vintage vans, tea
and cakes from our tea rooms, and drinks from the
festival bar. All tickets to the festival include free entry
to the Castle and its collections. We are delighted to
welcome back Sevenoaks Bookshop as our festival
booksellers. A huge thank you to all our supporters,
volunteers, generous sponsors and donors, with
special thanks to Molly and David Borthwick, the
Fleming family, Nicola and John Coldman, and the
family of Paddy Cooke.

Adult events will take place on Sunday, providing wit
and wisdom on topics ranging from Dr Zhivago to
the life of a junior doctor, revelations about Royalist
women and Detective Inspector Rebus, culinary
inspiration, the consequences of crime for police and
perpetrator, award-winning poetry, Anglo-American
husband hunting and the power of persuasive writing.
We are also delighted to offer a whole day of life
drawing classes.
Bank Holiday Monday sees an array of events for
all the family, including discussions on the future of
science and AI, politics and post-truth, plus a festival
exclusive with the launch of Kate Mosse’s new
historical trilogy. Little ones can meet lovable bear
Hugless Douglas and Lauren Child, creator of Charlie
and Lola, the second Children’s Laureate to appear at
Chiddingstone.